In 1902, the
British administration of Eswatini signed a term of commitment with the
Portuguese administration of Mozambique for the construction of a railway line that would depart from the port of Maputo, reaching
Mbabane. The works started in 1903, but the Mozambican stretch until
Goba was only opened in 1912. After reaching the border, the railroad did not go into the interior of the Eswatini, with the works paralyzing. In 1927, the Zululand railway (current Richards Bay railway), in the
South African Union, reached
Golela, on the southern border of Eswatini, but still did not reach the Swazi interior lands. The development of the
Ngwenya Mine in the 1960s gave new impetus to the construction of railways at Eswatini. Between 1961 and 1964, the east–west line was built from Goba to
Matsapha and then to Ngwenya. Mining in Ngwenya ceased in 1980 and the railway section between this city and Matsapha was abandoned. The
Mozambican War of Independence and the subsequent
Mozambican Civil War caused disruptions in Eswatini's port trade through Mozambique, and in 1977, the
South African Railways Company agreed to build a link between the Golela train station and the stretch existing in
Siphofaneni/
Phuzumoya and
Mpaka. This line, opened in 1978, gave Eswatini rail access to
Durban and
Richards Bay. In 1986, the northern link was opened, connecting
Komatipoort to Mpaka, providing a shorter and alternative route for freight and passenger traffic from Eswatini and East South Africa to the port of Richards Bay, breaking much of the traffic and cargo transported by the
port of Maputo. == Railway branches ==